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Business Day (Johannesburg) <http://www.businessday.co.za/>


  Africa: Why U.S.'s Africom Will Hurt Africa

Michele Ruiters

14 February 2007

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opinion

Johannesburg ? GOVERNMENTS protect their interests in various ways, but
the US has opted to increase its military presence in Africa through the
creation of a military command post, known as Africom.

Rational decisions about access to oil resources and geostrategic
regions such as the Horn of Africa and the Middle East dominate US
foreign policy decisions. The continent that must host Africom is
characterised by a vulnerability to globalisation and identity politics.
It is therefore disturbing to note that democracy, health, education,
economic growth and development are being tied to military interests.
Why would the military improve these services? The war in Iraq has
proven that military might does not produce compliance or acquiescence
within a region or a country.

Neither could the military create conditions under which democracy could
grow and flourish. Much has been done in the name of democracy that has
resulted in destabilisation and destruction of the host country, a
process not easily reversed.

The expansion of an American strategic geopolitical military base on the
continent will worsen many of the problems Africa has at present. The
planned US military presence, possibly in Addis Ababa, is most likely a
counterpoint to China's economic expansion in Africa, inducing dj-vu
about Cold War tensions in Africa.

US oil interests and the "war on terror" lie behind the most recent
plans, as Africom in Ethiopia would provide the US with a launch pad
into the Middle East and the volatile Horn, also marked as a haven for
"terrorists". Africom's presence in Ethiopia would raise that country's
profile internationally but at the same time jeopardise its relations
with its immediate neighbours and the rest of the continent.

Africom is meant to bring peace and security to the people of Africa,
and promote common goals of development, health, education, democracy
and economic growth. These are commendable ideals, but they are
unilateral in their origin and their attachment to a military base or
institutional framework leaves much to be desired. More importantly, as
a result of military activity, whether it is foreign or local, a
militarised community emerges.

Military bases in Asia and South America have produced a culture and
economy that are focused on servicing and serving that base. Local women
and men become militarised as they seek ways and means to survive and
thrive in the presence of the military base.

Militarisation is not only about protecting interests and resources, but
also about the militarisation of a society that yields a particular type
of social relations, which entrench unequal relations between women and
men. The military and its business are hyper-masculine, heterosexual and
based on power-wielding institutions that support the military
apparatus. Increased poverty and patriarchal cultural practices continue
to disadvantage especially women in all spheres of their daily lives.
Both women's and men's lives are structured to support the military
institution in particular ways that worsen these differences.

As a result, a political culture emerges in which a country resorts to
conflict resolution through military means, where masculinity in the
military is favoured, and where women become vulnerable as a result of
the increased presence of militaristic ideals and practices.

Military bases bring unsustainable economic development to the area in
which they are established. In countries where unemployment is rife and
where most of the unemployed are women, sex work becomes a necessity
when women and men need to feed their families. This results in local
women and men becoming more vulnerable and dependent on a patriarchal
system for their daily subsistence.

In the light of the above, it is necessary for Africans to oppose the
expansion of US military power on the continent. Debates will emerge
about Africom's interests, manoeuvres and probable outcomes, but we
should also examine the potential social, economic and political
destabilisation of an already vulnerable continent.

The African Union and the Peace and Security Council were established to
entrench democracy, create economic development and monitor and secure
peace but have not been allowed to develop and mature enough to deal
with the continent's problems. Africa does not need another US base
aimed at "promoting" peace and development. Africom would destabilise an
already fragile continent and region, which would be forced to engage
with US interests on military terms.

/Ruiters is a senior researcher at the Institute for Global Dialogue./

Copyright  2007 Business Day. All rights reserved. Distributed by
AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com).

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